Faith in Fallen Angels
by Joker's Apprentince
Summary: On his seventh birthday Naruto gets the family he always wanted, just with a few me tricks and abilities then he is used to. IK summary is short and probably sucks but the story's good.
1. Chapter 1

So yeah, sorry.

Anyway I took this down earlier so I could rewrite it.

Originally I had the idea of Mystique running into Naruto, at about the Shippuden timeframe, while she was being chased by a hunter sentinel.

Also i'm trying to write my own Peter Parker x Carol Danvers fanfic, but there is one small problem...no idea how to write either of them.

Well anyway ON WITH THE SHOW

Kakashi Hatake, former student to the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, was one of six Anbu guards on-duty standing on top of the roof of the Hokage tower, awaiting some foreign diginatry the Hokage was supposed to be meeting. It was October the tenth, so you can imagine it was already cold enough outside, the wind that blew occasionally was not helping anything.

"He's late," Kakashi stated, leaning against the cold railing.

"Give him time," Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage and the current acting Hokage, replied puffing on his pipe with one hand and holding his hat with his other, waiting as if he expected the man they should be meeting right now to be late all along.

"My apologies Hokage-sama, just wondering why politicians are late all the time," Kakashi said, scanning the surrondings. Sarutobi just chuckled at Kakashi's complaint, taking another puff on his pipe.

"So what if he is a few minutes late," Sarutobi asked amused, "he is probably being held up by the weather."

Just as Kakashi was about to respond to the statement he heard something that did not mesh with the sounds he had come to expect from Konoha, this sound was like a metallic hum. Not even thirty seconds later the source of the humming descended from the clouds over head, it was a man in his late 40's to early 50's with piercing blue eyes and, from what he could see underneath the man's red helmet, white hair that spoke of old age, as if his numerous wrinkles didn't do that already, in a red violet body suit, and red violet cape with purple trim.

"Ah Magneto," Sarutobi greeted with a smile, like he and the newcomer were old friends, "I trust your trip was uneventful."

"Come now Hiruzen," the man admonished playfully as he wrapped the Hokage in a hug, "there shall be no formalities between friends to you it is either Erik or Magnus."

"Naturally," the Hokage said, returning the embrace, "I trust you and Charles have settled your differences?"

"Yes," Magneto answered with a grin, "and these have been the best years of mutantkind."

"Wanda and Pietro how are they doing," Sarutobi asked, "I trust they are good health."

"Well Wanda got pregnant five years ago," Magneto answered with a conspiratoral grin, "and I had a very interesting talk with the X-men's local preacher. Pietro is currently with the Avengers and his expecting his first child by the end of the year."

"Well I dare hope the young man survived your little talk," Sarutobi said, putting his friend at arms length and smiling.

"A little longer and he would have gone to meet his god a lot sooner than he expected," Magneto joked, "but back to the matter for which I am here."

"Yes," Sarutobi replied, his smile vanishing, "have you and Charles come to a conclusion about the boy? When last we spoke you said there was a strong possibility he might be a mutant due to his tenant."

"We have," Magneto answered, his eyes becoming as hard as the metal he manipulated as his poker face fell into place, "Charles used Cerebro to scan the continent for mutants or people with the potential to become mutants, most of these signals came from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, as a by product of their bloodline limits. However he also found several people whose mental signatures suggest latent mutant potential, amongst which is the boys."

"I see," Sarutobi replied, taking a puff on his pipe. While his outward appearance was the definition of calm, inwardly he was damning the village to the deepest, darkest, hottest pit of hell. You see over the past few years he had been doing his best to care for the boy, on more than one occasion he had even tried to find him a loving family, only for the Civilian portion of the Council to repeatedly stonewall him. He had also tried to honor the wishes of his deceased successor/predecessor and Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, and to get the people to revere Naruto as the hero he was, instead the Civilian Council had basically pissed on the Fourth's last wish and saw Naruto only as the monster he unknowingly kept prisoner, which had resulted in what was happening tonight, which could either work marvelously and bring in the always needed extra source of income for the Village along with a alliance with two powerful groups of super humans or would see him executed as a traitor for making a backroom deal and make Naruto's life even worse.

"It's your village," Magneto stated, breaking Sarutobi from his musings.

"Yes," Sarutobi replied, a fire appearing in his eyes that hadn't been there since he retook the position of Hokage, "and it's time the Civilian Council remembers who really holds the power in this village."

With a silent hand motion a masked ANBU with a cat mask walked forward with a folder stuffed with papers.

"Do you wish to look over them Erik," Sarutobi asked, holding the folder out to Magneto, "to make sure everything is satisfactory?"

With a nod Magneto grabbed the folder and spent thirty minutes looking over the papers contained inside, then with a nod Magneto closed the folder and handed it back.

"According to this treaty, now made official by the acting Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, Konoha cedes the training, upbringing, and custody of the Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, to the sovreign government of Geonoshia. He is to be adopted by a trustworthy member of Geonoshia and trained to be a ninja of Konohagakure no Sato, thus making his guardian and those accompanying him or her, political "hostages" to ensure a stable future between our two nations. While within the village, these hostages will have diplomatic immunity, and complete autonomy in their actions, even if they decide to join the ranks of our fellow shinobi. They shall be given their own lands, clan compound, and status as a sovereign clan with a seat on the Council. If the boy does indeed develop any mutant abilities, it is the responsibility of his guardians to guide him in mastering this newfound power if need be, as well as any abilities that may result as a byproduct of his union with the _Bijuu_ , Kyubi-no-Kitsune," Sarutobi announced, in a matter of fact tone, putting the seal of the Office of the Hokage on various pages before handing the folder to Magneto, " So say I Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato."

" And," Magnus said stoically, taking the folder, "as the sovereign ruler of Geonoshia and the House of M, I cede seven warriors as the child's guardians and caregivers. They shall be more than the child's nurses or teachers, they shall be his family. They shall share a bond of unity, family, and brotherhood. They shall be our representatives in your country and will answer only to the reigning Hokage of Konohagakure. So declares Erik Magnus Lensherr, the Master of Magnetism. May this treaty help your village prosper."

With that Magneto signed his name to the same pages as the seal of the Hokage.

"And more importantly may it give Naruto the family he more than deserves," Sarutobi stated, just before he took the folder with the newly signed treaty from Magneto, "come Erik, let us go inside. It's cold out here and I would prefer we be someplace warm when we make preparations to bring Naruto's new family here."

"It's already done old friend," Magneto stated, a smirk appearing on his face from seeing Sarutobi's confused expression, "I could imagine no better birthday gift for a orphan than a family, so I brought them with me."

With that he raised a hand to the sky, with the palm facing the clouds and his fingers splayed, and then moved it so his palm was pointing to the roof and with that seven pods descended from the heavens. After making a slashing motion through the air with his hand the tops of the pods opened revealing Naruto's new family. Out of the first pod stepped a woman with a lean and lithe build which to Kakashi suggested a acrobatic fighting style, a belt with a great number of assorted pouches, some containing tiny balls he had once heard were called grenades, and pouches containing black rectangles with a short bronze pods inside, he thought he had heard them called bullets, resting in pouches on her hips were two L-shaped pieces of metal, if he remembered they were called pistols, and she was wearing skin tight leather pants, a equally tight leather top that was cut to revealed her midriff, black combat boots, and black fingerless gloves. All in all she looked like the perfect mixture of combat prowress and exoctic beauty, topped off with a body many kunochi would sell their souls or kill for. However any male ANBU present were put off by the woman as she looked like human they had ever seen. She had dark blue skin, pupil-less amber eyes, a blood red bob cut with a skull ornament at the base of her hair line, and her skin looked like it had some kind of ridging to it.

The second person to step out of their pod looked like someone had taken a rabid animal and made it human. The person was male with black hair, blue eyes, and he was decidedly short, standing at only 5'3". He was wearing a white undershirt with a red and black plaid shirt over it, blue jeans held up with a black leather belt with a dull gold buckle, and brown leather boots with a rounded point, and he was puffing on cigar, that let off such a noxious smell Kakashi almost took off his mask to hold his nose.

' _Doesn't look like much,_ ' Kakashi thought, just as the roof shook from the third person getting out of their pod. The person who stepped out of the third pod was a man who towered over everyone present, standing at a easy 9'5", he wore what looked like a black spandex full body suit under a blood-red chestplate, greaves, gauntlets, and a blood red armband on each arm, and a blood red dome shaped helmet rounded off the outfit, and he had a look of bloodlust in his eyes and a aura that made it seem like he was just itching for a fight.

' _That helmet has got to limit his vision_ ,' Kakashi thought, already catching himself planning moves and counter moves for each of the people that had stepped out so far. However all his thoughts thus far had come to a grinding halt. If he hadn't seen the body he would have sworn the woman was Kushina Uzumaki brought back to life. The woman stood at 5'6" with fiery red hair, emerald green eyes, with a petite figure that was covered by a dark green shirt, tan cargo pants, and black and white shoes that looked like they were designed for running. However the thing that seemed to mar her beautiful features was that she seemed to have a near permanent frown on her face.

' _And I got nothing...though she'd be prettier if she smiled_ ,' Kakashi thought, and as if it was some kind of sign the redheaded girl let a small smile cross her features. The next person to step out of their pod was a man with sandy blonde hair that was spiked, he was wearing a orange body suit with a red chestplate, red metal boots, and red gauntlents with two clear houses coming from them that hugged his arms and went to somekind of pack on his back, his eyes were covered with a clear-orange visor, and he had a mischivious grin on his face. However Kakashi found himself internally thanking him as the man released a fireball and held it in place with a wave of his hand, bringing much needed warmth to the people on the roof.

' _Ok close eye on him_ ,' Kakashi thought. Out of the sixth pod stepped a rather odd pair. The female of the two exemplified asian beauty with her black hair in a bun with two chopsticks going through the bun, a regal face like she was descended from royalty, doe-brown eyes, and she was wearing a leather cat-suit that was unzipped to reveal a little bit of her clevage, a black belt around her waist, and black high heeled boots, and the other one was also a woman, though the similarities stopped there, this other woman had pink colored skin, green pupil-less eyes, magenta colored hair that did nothing to hid the pink diamond on her forehead or the purple tattoo on her left eye, and she was wearing a black trench coat, black pants that fit her snuggly, and black combat boots.

"Allow me to introduce Naruto's new family," Magneto said as float above the seven new comers, "from Charles's X-men he sent the Feral Mutant, Logan Howlett aka the Wolverine, the Omega-level psychic Jean Grey, and the teleporter Clarice Ferguson aka Blink. I have sent from my own personal guard, Raven Darkholme, better known as the Mutant Shapeshifter Mystique, Cain Marko aka the Juggernaut, mutant fire-starter St. John Allerdyce aka Pyro, and Yuriko Oyama, though she prefers the name Lady Deathstrike."

With introductions complete Sarutobi took the time to look over each of them, his learned habit of examining people and assessing their strengths and weaknesses kicking.

"Which of them shall take of Naruto," Sarutobi asked, looking up at Magneto from beneath the brim of his hat.

"After much deliberation and debate between my family and Charles we have come to the perfect conclusion," Magneto said just before setting down and turning to look at Mystique, "Raven Charles and I have decided that it shall be you that adopts Naruto."

"What," Mystique questioned in shock, as all the memories of her numerous failures with her children assaulted her, "Erik no...that is I mean-"

"Raven," Magneto said, in a stern voice, not wanting to hear any of it, " trust me, you were always beating yourself up over your failures with Kurt and Marie but it was actually a blessing in disguise. Take it from a father who knows, it's not easy to watch your own children reject you. You may have lost Kurt but you found him again and he forgave you and he holds no hatred towards you and he found a home with Charles Xavier, Marie may show disdain towards you but she'll see that you helped her come to terms with who she was. Raven this boy needs someone like you, someone who knows rejection, so think of this as an opportunity for both of you to find happiness."

Eventually Mystique's tears of pain and sadness turned to tears of joy and happiness, Mystique nodded dumbly for a moment letting it sink in, "I'll do it."

Magneto smiled, for the first time since he and Charles had stopped their fighting, "You'll make a fine mother."

"I think so too," Sarutobi interjected honestly, knowing how it felt to try your hardest with a child only to have it be blown back in your face, Kami knows he tried to do right by his son Asuma, so he felt obligated to give this woman Mystique some words of encouragement , " You show compassion for your children, loving them when they are hostile to you for things that happened in the past, , you are a fine example of a mother Darkholme-san, just the kind of person Naruto needs in his life."

"Thank you sir I want let you down," Mystique said, then she quickly added as she stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes, "and please call me Raven."

"Of course Raven," Sarutobi chuckled, before taking one more puff on his pipe, "Now let's get inside its almost dark and there's a certain birthday boy we need to visit."

So what do you, my amazing readers, think so far?

Well if there is anyone who read the original they'll understand the changes that were made.

Well hope you enjoyed and remember to press the Review Button.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler smiled as he saw the Blackbird land inside the hanger, his smile grew even bigger at the people who exited. The first to exit was a little girl of 4 years old with light blue fur, pointed ears, blue hair, three fingers, a prehensinle tail, dressed in a dark brown shirt, black shorts, and silver tennis shoes, this was his daughter Talia Jospehine Wagner. The next person to step off the Blackbird was holding the hand of the little girl and immediately had his attention the woman stood at 5'3" with dark auburn hair that went to her shoulders and piercing green eyes that, to Nightcrawler anyway, light up the whole hanger, wearing a dark red corset over a light red mesh body suit, a red cape that stopped at her mid thigh, red high heel boots, red oprea gloves, and a red headpiece in the shape of a stylized M, this was Wanda Maximoff-Wagner, his wife and mother to his baby girl.

"Daddy," Talia shouted, and began pulling her mother along to try to get to her father faster. Smiling Wanda let the little girl go, knowing that no one would dare attack the Xavier Mansion directly. Smiling the little girl ran as fast as he little legs could carry her and when she was close enough she jumped into her father's arms.

There were few things Nightcrawler regretted, none more so then all the things he had missed out on, i.e. his daughter's first steps, her first words, and all the other things normal parents got to go through.

"Mein tochter," Nightcrawler replied, scooping the little girl into his arms and holding her tight. Smiling at the sight Wanda slowly walked up with her arms loosely crossed under her chest.

"Look what I can do with my tail," Talia said, looking up at her father as her tail seemed to shrink into her body.

"I'm jealous," Kurt said with a smile, "my tail only moves around."

Having said that he brushed his tail along his daughter's cheek, causing her to giggle. With that Wanda walked up to Kurt and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Hello beloved," Wanda greeted with a gentle smile.

"Hello meine geilbte," Kurt greeted in turn, a small smile appearing on his features, "how's my mother?"

"Father sent her away," Wanda answered, knowing that Mystique was often a sore spot for both Kurt and his unofficial adopted sister Marie, better known to the world as the mutant Rogue.

"What did she do," Kurt asked, his small quickly turning into a frown, his mind working on who she might have murdered now.

"No one," Wanada answered, placing a gloved hand on Kurt's arm, "father has her on a diplomatic mission."

Nodding grimly Kurt looked down at his daughter with a smile.

"What's wrong with Grandma Misty," Talia asked, her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Nothing Talia," Kurt answered, petting his daughter's head, "daddy just misses her."

Back with the Hokage...

Dark clouds circled overhead as Hiruzen Sarutobi lead a procession of seven to the orphanage that Naruto was staying at, with Cain Marko staying behind to help Magneto move the groups stuff. The clan compound that he had ceded to them, as part of their arrangement, was the old Senju clan compound, Tsunade had expressed to him before she left Konoha after Kushina's death that she never wanted to see the place place was peaceful, being nestled in the middle of Konoha's forests, with a great deal of creature comforts, such as a rose garden, a hedge maze, a indoor heated pool, a training dojo, and a gym, and the fact it was well away from the hustle-and-bustle of Konoha ensured privacy, and any villagers who wanted to attack them would be hard press to get there. Needless to say he would love to see the look on the Council's collective faces when they found out he had given the compound as a sort of "embassy" to whom the people would collectively call 'demons' and 'monsters', who knows maybe he'd get lucky and a few of them would have a aneurysm. Immediately Saurtobi glanced over to the red head called Jean-Grey and wondered if she had read his mind.

"If you're worried about red reading minds without cause," the one called Logan stated, still smoking the same cigar he had on the roof, "don't."

Nodding Sarutobi lead them around a corner and there stood the orphanage, he then took note on how a couple of them seem to shiver, probably a bunch of bad memories. The orphanage looked clean enough, with a big school yard, a playground for when it was sunny and warm out, and bright welcome sign out front. Walking through the door the lady at the desk looked up and smiled, though he noticed a twitch of Logan's nostrils and Jean Grey's eyes.

"Hokage-sama," The girl behind the desk greeted the enthusiaism in her voice not going unnoticed, "You here to see Naruto? You know he's been waiting on your visit all day."

"Hello Kagura," Sarutobi greeted, noting that she seemed a little too enthusiastic, "and yes I am here to see Naruto, I do believe I have outdone myself this year."

Kagura scrunched her nose in confusion until she got a look at the motley group behind him, immediately she got excited, thinking that the day that her and the rest of the staff of the orphanage had long been waiting for had finally come, and at these thoughts Jean tightened her hands into fists while Logan began to growl low in his throat.

"Oh yes, I see, well if you would all come this way I'm sure he'll be happy to meet you all," Kagura announced, plastering a false smile on her face.

"Actually I think Mystique should go with the Hokage," Jean suggested, a gentle smile on her face as Mystique turned to glare at her.

"She's got a point Mystique," Logan said, the cigar he had been chewing on finally gone, "better for him to meet his future mother with somebody he knows, after all we don't want to overwhelm the kid."

"Gee thanks you two," Mystique said sarcastically, while plotting her revenge on them later. Nodding satisfactorly Sarutobi gave her the universal sign to follow him, with a final sigh Mystique followed the Hokage and Kagura as they walked down the hall.

"I'll be so glad when we leave this place," Jean stated, rubbing her arms like it would block out all the hateful thoughts in the orphanage, most directed to the boy they would soon take care of.

"No kidding red," Logan said, "seen dogs in heat with better pheromone control than her, she reeked of relief when she realized why we were here."

"Ga' every bloody where we go it's the same," Pyro said, wanting to torch the building to the ground, "Makes me bloody sick, no wonder Magneto wanted to kill them all."

"Well things are about to change for the better for him," Blink said.

"Yeah no more hard knock life for him," Logan responded, just before walking outside and lighting a cigar.

With Mystique and Sarutobi...

"He's been in his room since dinner," Kagura said, as she, Sarutobi, and Mystique climbed the stairs to Naruto's abode. Mystique taking in her surroundings, after spending the amount of time she had with Magneto she learned to use everything, even the environment, to her advantage. Although she eased up a little, reminding herself that they weren't in trouble...yet. But, she continued to glare a hole into the back of Kagura's. head, being somewhat of a actress herself she knew when people were faking and the girl was obviously faking.

"Anything happen today Kagura," Sarutobi asked, somewhat ignoring Mystique's glare that was steadily peeling away part of Kagura's scalp and trying to focus on Naruto for the moment, " You know how things get around this time of year."

True, a majority of the orphans had somehow connected Naruto to what happened to their parents by his whisker marks and his birthday which usually led to a fight or a mob chasing him.

"Well, there was a bit of a fight this morning," Kagura admitted, when they reached the top of the stairs, turning around and becoming VERY uneasy at the sight of Mystique's glare, "by the time we pulled him off he had a black eye and one of the boys he was fighting had a broken nose and the other was doubled over on the ground in pain."

Mystique couldn't help be smirk and stifle a giggle. She was starting to like this boy already. There was something to be said for not taking that sort of treatment lying down. Kagura then turned around and finished leading them to Naruto's room.

"Here we are Room 209," Kagura announced uneasily, as she slowly tip-toed to the stairs. Before Sarutobi and Mystique stood a oak door, with many knots and scratches, that looked like it had seen its fair share of occupants. Hanging from the faded metal door knob was a sign that read "Naruto's Room: ALL JERKS KEEP OUT!", obviously looking like a child had scrawled it on there, but what caught Mystique's attention was the various words and curses that had been etched onto the door, the most legible being "demon" and "freak".

' _Why the hell didn't anyone put a stop to this,_ ' Mystique thought angrily, as she clenched her hands into fists, ' _He's only a child._ '

Seeing Mystique's clenched fists Sarutobi sighed in despair for the poor boy. He then turned and gave Kagura a glare before telling her she could leave, he didn't need to tell her twice, and the minute he told her that she bolted down the stairs as if the very Shinigami himself were hot on her tail. Shaking his head in shame for the villager's actions Sarutobi calmly put a hand on Mystique's shoulder, this helped calm her down.

"Raven this isn't the time for anger," Sarutobi said calmly, Mystique nodded.

"Your right Hokage-sama," Raven said, getting most of her anger out of the way...for now at least. Sarutobi smiled before patting her shoulder and motioning to the door.

"Right then," Sarutobi said, "let's do what we came here to do shall we."

Raven nodded, and Sarutobi gave the door three distinctive knocks, 'Knock!Knock!Knock!'

"I thought I told you guys to leave me alone," said a weary voice that could only belong to a child, from the other side of the door. Obviously what had happened today had warranted the boy's retreat to his room, barring himself company on a day he should have been surrounded by people that loved and cared for him.

"Well then," Sarutobi said in mock hurt, while giving Raven a wink, "I guess I'll just leave sorry to have bothered you Naruto."

"Oji-san," asked the voice from the other side of the door, with Mystique barely able to suppress her giggles when she saw Sarutobi's eyebrow twitch at being called "gramps". Raven listened intently as she heard two small feet hitting the floor followed by rapid footfalls that came closer to the door. A few seconds later the lock clicked and the door swung open revealing a seven year old boy with hair so blonde it looked like it had been kissed by the sun itself, cerulean eyes that were as deep as the ocean that seemed to spark at the sight of the Hokage, three whisker marks on each cheek, he was wearing denim shorts, a black shirt with a orange spiral on it, and a pair of white socks to protect against the cold. No warning came as Naruto promptly tackled the old Hokage and knocked him on his butt, both of them laughing all the while. It was all so precious that Mystique couldn't help but smile as she felt all warm 'n' fuzzy inside.

' _Oh my god_ ,' she thought, with a surprised heartfelt gasp, ' _He looks just like Kurt did at that age_.'

Needless to say Mystique came down with a bad case of puppy love, right then and there. His beautiful eyes, his charming smile... there was just something about the boy that drew Raven to him.

"I thought I wouldn't see you before my birthday was over, Ojii-san," said Naruto earnestly as he gave the old man another fierce, yet loving, hug as they sat there on the floor. When he looked up at the old man, Mystique could tell there was a sincere feeling of respect and paternal love between the two of them. Unlike the other villagers, who only saw Naruto as the Kyubi when they looked at him, Sarutobi was one of the few that saw him for who he was, a child who'd had a heavy burden placed on his shoulders from birth. It was almost as if he'd become like part of Naruto's own family over these past few years.

"Naruto, how many times have I came and celebrated your birthday with you," Sarutobi asked, in a grandfatherly tone and playfully ruffling the boys, "Seven right, did you actually think I was going to stop celebrating your birthday with you?"

Naruto shook his head no, the smile never leaving his face. Sarutobi's eyes then took on a soft and far-away look. He had been Naruto's friend and confidant for the past seven years, quite the feat considering Sarutobi had his own children to look after, and now the boy was finally going to have a family. Sarutobi couldn't have been any happier for him even if he tried.

It was at that moment that Naruto noticed Raven standing there, watching the whole moment, he couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at this blue-skinned woman in front of him. She seemed very imposing at the time, with her lean musculature, pupil-less amber eyes, and skull ornament affixed to her forehead, that, and the fact that she had _blue_ skin was considerably mind-boggling to a seven-year-old who had never grown up around mutants before. However, after a second, he saw that she looked at him not with disdain or hatred like the villagers did, but that her eyes were soft with kindness and compassion, and she had a smile on her face when she saw him, a smile that was all his. It was at this moment that made him see her for what she was, beautiful.

"Hi," Naruto said meekly, while throwing up a foxlike grin.

"Hi there," Mystique said, as she got down to Naruto's level, "My name's Mystique, what's your name?"

"Naruto," Naruto answered, as he saw Mystique smile he couldn't help but smile.

"That's such a good name for you sweetie," Mystique complemented, this caused Naruto to blush as no one as beautiful as Mystique had ever called him that. Mystique then extended her hand and Naruto looked a little afraid at first before he too extended his hand and shook Mystique's.

"Naruto," Sarutobi said, feeling absolutely horrible for interrupting a tender moment, getting the blonde's attention, " I brought Mystique here for a very special purpose, you see she's here to adopt you."

Immediately, Naruto's eyes lit up with a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and happiness. All this time, he'd been here with the others, hoping and waiting that someone would come for him and take him in, make him part of their family. He'd watched for years as the rest of the kids had been interviewed by potential parents and then hours later said their goodbyes to everyone as they left to start a new life. Now, it looked like it was finally his time, but looking back on the past adoptions he'd seen from afar, something about this seemed off, they hadn't called him out for an interview, given him time to get to know this strange lady who seemed to just come out of the blue to adopt him, or even talked about something called "paper-work" that he'd seen Sarutobi cringe at the very mention of. There were also the things the other children had said.

"But all the other," Naruto paused mid-sentence, trying to find the right way to word this so he wouldn't scare the lady off, " They said no one would..."

"Want you," Mystique finished the sentence, Naruto nodded wondering if she was going to run ,but her next statement blew that thought out of the water, " and why would they not want you, I mean look at you your cute, you have the brightest smile I've ever seen, and from what your oji-san has told me about you your completely energetic and caring, now sweetie why would you go and believe anything those mean people told you?"

Naruto was surprised, no one, let alone someone as pretty as Mystique, had ever called him all those nice things before. It surprised him further when he felt Mystique wrap her arms around him in a comforting hug. No one had ever done anything nice for him before, yet here was this complete stranger hugging and saying so many nice things about him, as if she had always known it. As he thought about her question, Mystique pulled back a bit on the hug and lifted his eyes to look into her own. Again, he found himself captivated by how she held such compassion in her eyes when she looked at him. Was this what it felt like to the kids who actually had a mother? Was this the warm feeling of belonging that they felt when they were with their families?

"Naruto you're a good kid and you deserve a family," Mystique said soothingly as she ran her fingers the blonde boys hair, "The other people here say what they do out of spite because there's something about you is different."

Sarutobi visibly flinched, thinking that Mystique was going to tell Naruto about Kyubi, but her next statement eased his fears, "I'm not quite sure what that something is, but they are wrong to treat you the way they do, but I know how you feel because I was treated the same way as was the rest of your new family, people fear what they don't understand it's only natural but it doesn't excuse the anger and prejudice, but that's how people are, and it's sad because they don't realize what wonderful people we are."

"They are more people with you," Naruto asked, shaking in excitement of having a big family like all the kids from the ninja academy, before some unpleasant thought settled into Naruto's mind about those people being mean to him, "Are they like you?"

"Well they aren't blue like me," Mystique explained, not being able to suppress a giggle as she thought of the various member of the Brotherhood with blue skin, "But they are like us in the fact that they're different, it doesn't matter what they look like on the outside or that they can do something that no else can, they are just like us, just like you my little Naruto, and they all want to be your family but I'd love to be your mommy Naruto if you'll let me?"

Unable to hold it back any longer, Naruto leapt forward and grabbed hold of Raven so hard, it almost knocked her over. Surprised by this, she couldn't help but gasp as the wind was knocked out of her and she had to support herself, lest she crash to the floorboards. As she managed to catch her breath through the boy's death-grip, she couldn't help but her a soft sobbing noise emanating from between her breasts where Naruto had buried his head almost instinctively, like a child who'd come to his mother after waking up from some horrible nightmare. She didn't need to see his face to know that there were tears in his eyes, tears of joy and happiness. All his life, he must have been waiting for this day, and now he was so happy that it came, he couldn't contain himself.

"I guess that answers that, huh," she asked somewhat jokingly, Sarutobi chuckling nearby at the look on her face. Her answer came as Naruto nodded his head up and down frantically, still sobbing as he lifted his head to look her square in the face through tear-filled eyes. All motherly instincts taking over, Mystique pulled his head close to her heart once more, soothing him with her voice as she rocked him back and forth, stroking his hair lovingly as though she'd been his mother all his life. "Shhhh, it's alright, honey, it's alright, I'm here now, I'm here, you don't have to be alone any more, your mommy's here now, I love you, my little Naruto."

"And I love you too," Naruto managed to say between sobs, the sound of his small voice capable of making even the hardest of hearts break, "kaa-san."

On the other side of the world...

Anna Marie, better known to the world at large as the power absorbing mutant Rogue, was in the rec room of the Xavier Institute playing pool by herself. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, as she had gotten used to people trying to avoid her due to her powers, but today it just made her a little sad. After all she wanted what every one else had and took for granted, the ability to give people a handshake without having to wear gloves, to be able to hug somebody without having to wear a long sleeve shirt or sweater, or to be able to kiss someone without having to put ur gloved hand in the way cause if you touched them for too long they'd end up in a coma. Shaking her head Rogue was about to try and sink the eight ball when there was a loud 'BAMF' and the air reeked of sulfur, announcing the arrival of her unofficial adopted brother Nightcrawler.

"We need to talk," Kurt said, the usual mirth in his eyes gone.

"What about," Rogue asked, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Our mother," Kurt answered. Rogue nodded then followed him out of the rec room, already knowing the two of them were going to be in a world of trouble before long.


End file.
